Spartan Transfer Hub

On this episode of the Spartan Transfer Hub, we sat down with Ashley Hewlett-Lemke, the Program Coordinator for the Transfer Student Success Center (TSSC), and Christeen Nguyen, the new TEMPO Coordinator, to discuss the Transfer Experience Mentorship Program Opportunity (TEMPO). If you are an incoming student for the Fall 2026 semester, apply here: Fall 2026 TEMPO Mentee Application

For more information, follow TSSC on Instagram at @msutransfersuccess
https://www.instagram.com/msutransfersuccess/

Creators and Guests

Host
Katie Goble
Katie Goble is a senior at Michigan State University studying Strategic Communication and Public Relations. She transferred to MSU from Lansing Community College in the Fall of 2025, and she is loving her time as a Spartan! She is here to prove that any transfer student can make the most of their experience by building their support system and finding community on and off campus.

What is Spartan Transfer Hub?

Spartan Transfer Hub is a podcast for transfer students at Michigan State University, and beyond, brought to you by the Transfer Student Success Center (TSSC).

Each episode features conversations with MSU staff, faculty, and fellow students, highlighting key resources, programs, tips and individual stories to help you navigate your transfer journey. From academic support to campus involvement, Spartan Transfer Hub connects you to the tools and people that make a difference.

Find us on Impact89fm.org, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more!
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/msutransfersuccess
Website: https://spartantransferhub.transistor.fm

Speaker 1:

Hi, everyone. Welcome to the Spartan Transfer Hub podcast, a place where you can find all the tips, tricks, and tools to help you navigate your transfer journey here at MSU. Before we get started, just a reminder that this podcast is brought to you by the Transfer Student Success Center and IMPACT eighty nine FM. Let's dive in. Alright, everyone.

Speaker 1:

Welcome back. I am your host, Goble, and I use sheher pronouns. I'm a senior studying communication and public relations, and I transferred to MSU from Lansing Community College in the fall of twenty twenty five. Today, we will be discussing TEMPO! In the studio today, have two guests from our very own Transfer Student Success Center or TSSC to share more info on some recent changes and exciting updates.

Speaker 1:

If you both could introduce yourselves, that would be great.

Speaker 2:

Hello, transfer student land and community. This is Ashley Hewlett Lemke. I am the program coordinator with the Transfer Student Success Center and I use the she series of pronouns. And I am also a proud transfer graduate from Michigan State University.

Speaker 3:

Well hi everyone, my name is Christine Nguyen, I use sheherhers pronouns. I am currently the TEMPO! Graduate student at TSSC. Unfortunately, I am not a transfer student but I'm excited to share my thoughts. You're still part of

Speaker 2:

the family.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we're so very excited to have you. Our most recent addition to the Transfer Student family. You're welcome. All right, so Ashley, to start us off, for those that don't know, what is TEMPO?

Speaker 2:

So TEMPO! We love our acronyms at MSU as everybody gets to know very quickly. So T E M P O. TEMPO stands for the Transfer Experience Mentoring Program Opportunity. So what this is in a nutshell is the it's an opportunity that's a semester long for all of our new transfer students to be paired with a seasoned transfer student, or I should say Transfer Spartan, more accurately.

Speaker 2:

So this is an opportunity to have one on one meetings with a returning Transfer Spartan who has gone through the transfer transition themselves. And it's an opportunity to meet with them regularly, to have your questions answered, to connect with resources, and it's also an opportunity to build community with other transfer students here at MSU.

Speaker 1:

Awesome. So one thing I wanted to clarify, I know you said it's for new transfer students. Is it for like new students on campus, or can they join before they arrive on campus, like as they're being admitted and in the process?

Speaker 2:

So some changes to the program. So as of the recording, we are actually going into the fall semester of twenty twenty six. At this point in time, TEMPO! Is available to newly enrolled transfer students at Michigan State. There were some partnerships in the past with our community colleges.

Speaker 2:

However, at this point in time, just given some of the structural organizational changes, it's only available to students who are enrolled at Michigan State during their first semester after transferring. Does that clarify that question?

Speaker 1:

Yes, absolutely. Because I know when I was a mentee, I was a mentee I even arrived, but I knew there were some changes. So I definitely wanted to clarify that. So now I'm gonna take it to Christine, our most, like I said, recent addition to the Transfer Student family. You are the new TEMPO, you're a graduate assistant, but you're basically the TEMPO coordinator.

Speaker 1:

Could you tell us a little bit about your background and where you're from, your time as a Spartan student, all the things, like how your experience has helped prepare you for this role? Tell us more about yourself. We want to get to you.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so as I said, my name is Christine. I'm from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Right out of high school, I was admitted to MSU and I've been there during my undergrad and now currently my master's. As I said before, I'm not a transfer student so I'd love to learn more about each and every one of you. I'm really excited for this role actually.

Speaker 3:

During my time at MSU, I was a human biology major with a minor in anthropology and now I'm currently in my master's of public Health. While

Speaker 1:

I

Speaker 3:

was here I was a part of many programs but one program that stuck out to me was TRIO. So I used to be a program ambassador as well as a program mentee or peer mentee or mentor I mean yeah mentor for about two years and so I guess with that experience it immediately navigated me towards this position because one I love helping students who were in the same position as me like coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. I just love being in that space to kind of offer my knowledge and what could help possibly other new students.

Speaker 1:

That's awesome! So as you're looking towards being the new coordinator for TEMPO! What is your vision? What do you see in the cards for TEMPO! As it's going through some changes?

Speaker 3:

I really want to see or I want to be a part of that fostering of a community. I know TEMPO! And TSSE is fairly new. What I would love to see out of the program is that all the students, especially transfer students, have a place to call home and have a community that values them, that sees them, and deems them as a part of a community. And I just want to be able to be a part of that space where I can help navigate those students into feeling a sense of belonging.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I'm glad you brought that up because during my time as a mentee, I kind of wanted to share a little bit about that in this episode to help students understand it more from the student perspective. You you said, you talked about making a home for transfer students and building that sense of belonging. That's exactly what I felt when I was in TEMPO! I know I was part of the cohort that I was able to join before I had arrived to campus. I think it was in January, the spring before I transferred in in the fall.

Speaker 1:

And I had a wonderful experience with TEMPO! I was paired with a mentor, Couldn't have had a better mentor. Me and Samir are still like the best of friends. I love him so much. And he helps me just navigate the process.

Speaker 1:

I know my experience, like I said, will be a little bit different than most students because it was like still going through like the admittance process and everything. But he kind of helped me navigate housing and he helped me navigate RCPD. And that was a huge help for making sure that I was accommodated all throughout the process, especially by the time I arrived on campus. I had everything I needed. I think also one of the underrated things we don't talk about enough is just like that emotional support the can offer.

Speaker 1:

I mean, always talked about how MSU, you know, we really take care of our transfer students, and it's really easy to feel that sense of belonging, especially with things like the TEMPO! Events we have and just the different programs we have as part of TSSC. But when you're kind of first getting on campus and getting your feet wet with everything, you might not have transfer student friends yet. And so having that mentor can be so great to just give you that emotional support. Like you have someone to text if you have questions, like where do I find this on campus?

Speaker 1:

Is there a resource for this? The answer is always going to be yes. It's like where do you find it? And so that emotional support is just so important. And so I'm just so grateful that I had Samir as a wonderful mentor during that time that even though it was pretty smooth, it was still a little stressful at times.

Speaker 1:

And so for any student that's wanting to join TEMPO! As a mentee, would definitely encourage it because it's just a great experience overall. And speaking of students wanting to get involved in TEMPO! Ashley, I'm going throw it back to you. How can students get involved?

Speaker 2:

I want to start off by saying shout out to Samira. Like, we also saw Samira be part of the OG graduate. Yes, he is. So, He

Speaker 1:

is living his best life and he deserves he deserves the world. He's amazing.

Speaker 2:

One of our one of our superstar mentors for sure. So. Yes. I'm happy to say that we have superstar mentors who are working for us this fall. So I do want to.

Speaker 1:

Yes. And one of them does happen to my best friend. So I'm so excited for

Speaker 2:

her as well. First and foremost, let's start with, well, do you apply? Well, any transfer student who has gone through the NSO process this summer should have received some emails from the Transfer Student Success Center with that actual application form. And really the goal of the application, it's to help us get to know you a little bit better. So to ask some questions about like, what do you do in your spare time?

Speaker 2:

Like, what are you interested in kind of from a career perspective? And information really helps us. And I know Christine's been kind of looking at that that information from our application so far. That helps us be making informed decisions about helping pair everybody with with a good mentor fit. There will, of course, be an in person opportunity, so that will be the TEMPO!

Speaker 2:

Kickoff. So we've got details forthcoming with that in the works, but it's an opportunity to get to know all of the mentors in a single space, and then from there, you know, based on the interactions that you've had with some of our mentors, you know, was really vibing with this particular mentor. I'd like to be paired with them, if possible. There's some opportunities for us to get to know you through that TEMPO! Mentee application.

Speaker 2:

So, like I said, that's an email that has gone out. If you have not gotten that email because you've been living your best life, and like, I am not checking my MSU email beyond the NSO related stuff, totally understand that, totally respect that. If you check out our link tree, which is at MSU Transfer Success, all lowercase, all single word, no spaces, dots, any any of that any of those shenanigans, we do have the the TEMPO Menti application. It is linked there. Carve out, you know, ten, fifteen minutes to fill that out, and that way we can kind of get you connected with kind of those initial steps with the application process.

Speaker 2:

You're going to have the opportunity then to, as I mentioned, meet with students who are invited to the program. Kind of keeping in mind that students who may already be connected to other mentor experiences on campus, we do want to be mindful of those who don't have access to those resources. So those students will kind of take priority. But we do encourage everybody to apply who is interested in in this opportunity. And for the most part, I don't think we've been in a position where we've had to turn any of our applicants away, so I'm happy to report that.

Speaker 2:

We do have seven mentors this fall, so we Exactly, have increased our that is a huge woo hoo. So we've increased the number of mentees we're able to serve this fall. We're super excited about that. That said, we also, you know, kind of thinking about, well, what does the semester look like? We haven't talked about that.

Speaker 2:

So Christine is actually in the process working with me, working with other colleagues in the office to actually plan out what are called the TEMPO! Weekly gathering spaces. So these are actually the opportunities to come together as a TEMPO! Cohort and engage with various opportunities. Like, already we have things in the works related to, I know we've talked about, like, maybe doing like some pumpkin decorations, things of various, you know, student input, opportunity for every everybody to come together and eat, we will feed you.

Speaker 2:

I do wanna highlight that. Free food, guys. Yep. So free food, always Dave's Hot Chicken seems to be a hot commodity.

Speaker 1:

Oh, I gonna say, we love our Dave's Hot Chicken. Right.

Speaker 2:

I feel like they need to be giving us some endorsement or sponsorship.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we need to get some swag Yeah. As

Speaker 2:

That's right. There we go. But really, you know, so these are opportunities to come together weekly with other mentors and other mentees going through the program to really build community, get to know each other, learn a little bit about each other. I know all of our mentors this fall, they will be tasked with presenting on a topic of choice. I know we had one mentor present on a board game that is super popular.

Speaker 2:

He actually he grew up in India, so it was an opportunity to get to know him, that he's in personal interest, but then also some culture of his cultural background. My presentation that I did was actually how to fold clothes because I really enjoy, like, a really well organized

Speaker 3:

I need to go to that.

Speaker 2:

That's right.

Speaker 3:

I need to go to that. Oh my gosh. I always, like, sometimes I just, like, crumple up my clothes and just like put it in the back like, okay, it's fine. But no, I need to come to your folding seminar.

Speaker 2:

I I will I will I would be happy to to do that again this fall. Yeah. It's something that it's one of those little things that seems silly, but it's like, actually I do get a lot of joy out of opening up a cupboard that has really nicely, neatly folded clothing. Now, don't go to my house and open up the cupboards because it's like I I also have two two small children, so I'm navigating, you know, parenthood and whatnot. But but just recognizing, like, that's something that I that sparks a fire.

Speaker 2:

I think it's fun. I think it's a good life skill. So it's something that I I wanted to share with everybody. And we have those opportunities for our mentors to share those types of things with everybody as well. So I think that those are kind of the two key things.

Speaker 2:

It's like the the mentor opportunity. It's an opportunity to have a one on one regular connection, all mentee driven, kind of according to your schedule, whether it's weekly, biweekly, whatever you need. And then those opportunities for us to kind of come together as a group and, as I mentioned, eat, hang out, get to know each other a little bit, learn about some campus resources, so on and so forth.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's awesome. So from either of you, do you have anything more you want to add before we wrap up today's episode?

Speaker 3:

I forgot to shout out Trio for a second.

Speaker 2:

Okay, let's do it.

Speaker 3:

Shout out Martell, shout out Jeron, and all the other staffs. Don't

Speaker 1:

forget Jimmy.

Speaker 3:

Don't forget Jimmy.

Speaker 1:

Oh my god. I just saw him yesterday.

Speaker 3:

No, I'm telling please don't. Jimmy, Emily, Martell, Jeron, all the student staff that have been there throughout my journey. I love you guys. I wouldn't be in this position without y'all.

Speaker 1:

Aw, that's so sweet. That's sweet. Yeah. And I mean, it's so that's so cool that like a cohort program shaped your experience so much that now you're in like a mentor coordinator role for a different program. And that's I think that's also like wrapping all this up.

Speaker 1:

That's the importance of programs like this is when you feel supported, you feel that sense of belonging, you have a positive experience, you want to make it better for someone else. And so like even thinking of our TEMPO! Mentors, like they might go on to help in another area of campus because of their positive experience. So it just kind of wraps it all up in a nice little bow. I'm glad you said that.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, of course. I think like I hope to bring what my experience that I had at I'm genuinely so excited for what this semester has in store.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. So am I.

Speaker 2:

That's what we were excited to bring you on onto the team, Christine,

Speaker 1:

because I know

Speaker 2:

you bring a wealth of MSU knowledge and a wealth of TRIO experience. So I think you're a great fit for this role. Something else that I want to add is that the all of the mentors who we've hired, many of them have been mentees themselves. So they've had so there's kind of this long term opportunity to eventually work for us. And I think, you know, some of the comments that were shared about being able to kind of pay it forward, I think there's there's a really interesting opportunity here for if you serve or if you are part of the mentee cohort, if you would like to pay that forward to future transfer students who are incoming, there is the opportunity to do so because, you know, everybody comes to Michigan State.

Speaker 2:

You all don't stay here forever. You graduate eventually. And that's absolutely true for our mentors as everybody graduates and moves wonderful things. There, of course, are employment opportunities with the TEMPO! Mentor experience as well.

Speaker 3:

I want to add on to that. I think being a peer mentor, just being a part of a program like this is so rewarding. It draws you back in because you feel even more a part of a community and maybe even become a community leader or resource for all these other students. It's so fulfilling and it's so rewarding. Ashley said, please, if you are thinking about becoming mentor, please join us.

Speaker 3:

Alright,

Speaker 1:

that's a wrap on today's episode. Thank you so much Ashley and Christine for joining us in the studio today. And to our listeners, of course, thank you so much for tuning in and be sure to

Speaker 3:

catch

Speaker 1:

us

Speaker 3:

in the next